‘Skyrim’ turns dragon slaying into great art

Skyrim, the fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls series, is a RPG game with stunning, realistic visuals.

How is it truly possible to describe “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” in a 500-word review? This is a game that has enveloped my life over the past few days, with much more to come. The strategy guide alone is 650 pages. To put a game like “Skyrim” into 500 words is like trying to experience a country by spending a few hours in its airport. You cannot begin to understand just what this game is like unless you put your life on hold for about a month and just start playing it.

“Skyrim” is the fifth installment of Bethesda Softworks’ “Elder Scrolls” series, set in the ancient home of the Nordic race, Skyrim. It is an RPG that is entirely open-world. There is a main storyline, but you can go off and do things on your own without worrying about the fact that dragons are attacking towns.

It is the most unbelievable game I have ever played. Ever. I’m not entirely impartial, as I love RPGs more than anything else, so I was expecting something incredible. Bethesda Softworks doesn’t make bad video games. And yet, all my expectations were blown away.

“Skyrim” is huge, it is beautiful, it is challenging, it is rewarding. It is a game that actually starts to make me think I am living in a real world. Since it came out on Friday, I have probably sunk about 14 hours into it, and I have barely scratched the surface.

At this point, I do not know a single thing about the story (aside from what you can find in the trailer, which is that dragons are coming back and you have to kill them). I have been going around, joining some groups, going into a couple dungeons. I have played 14 hours and I don’t feel like I have an understanding of this world in the slightest. Everything is so deep and intense; it is impossible to think that I might be able to do everything in it.

Moreover, the game looks absolutely stunning. I am running it on a partition on my MacBook Pro, and even on low quality, it has some of the most realistic looking scenery you could possibly imagine. I truly feel as though I am in the forests of Northern Germany, and I even experience fear that a giant spider will attack me at any moment.

All of the people look and act very human. I was in a town for the first time and a dragon showed up and started burning it down. The city guards and I managed to take the dragon down after a long and hard-fought battle. Afterwards, the city folk stood around the body in awe, and they were speaking to each other in amazement of what just happened.

Everything feels so real that it is impossible not to get lost in it.

As a warning, this is not a game for the faint of heart. Once you start it, it is like opening Pandora’s box. You can’t hope to play it for 20 hours and think that you have come anywhere close to finishing the game. It is something that requires work and dedication.

This is the game of the year, hands down. It is beautiful, doesn’t glitch and has a ton of deep, realistic characters and a new simple leveling system. The game is absolutely perfect. If you like RPGs at all and have some time, please, play this game. It is one of the best things ever made, and you will not regret the decision.

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The anti-aliasing is seriously lacking, and the game looks like shit. From a strictly aesthetic standpoint, it’s an epic fail.

wtchcrft

lol! cod fanboy… it has poor rendering issues true but aesthetically it’s still stunning… offers some of the best graphics on a next gen game to date

Sprout

Amazing game. 29 hours into it. Coming back to work is so difficult. My favorite thing, as was in all the bethesda games, is exploring. It is impossible to just do a quest without being sidetracked and venturing off.

PneumaPilot

Everything else just pales in comparison. Zombie bunny slaves, that’s all you need to know.

Gunn

I have to agree, I started playing yesterday at around 15:00 but was interrupted quite a bit during my first hours of play. I began to feel really tired and checked the time, it was 3:30 in the morning and it felt as though I’d barely begun playing!

Mike

Nice review, have to comment on doesn’t glitch though. I think that depends what console your playing on i’ve killed a few buggy enemies and frozen at save points when entering a door on a few occasions now. Doesn’t really detract but it’s worth mentioning.

Luna

It is so amazing. I’m blown away!

Jeremy

The PS3 Version has frozen on me 2x. I have played it for about 20 hours already. Still love it but not completely glitch free.